Please describe at least three biochemical adaptations that

Solution

three biochemical adaptation for an organism to thrive in animas river are:

1. maintenance of osmotic levels in the body : Fresh water is very dilute with osmotic concentration of around 10mOsm .it is loo hyposmotic for cells to function. therefore fresh water organism must have biochemicak mechanism to adapt to such low osmotic concentration by excereting water in urine and active ptake of salts through gills.

Using flame cells in lower invertebrates and fresh water kidney in higher invertebrates.

2. Thermal Adaptation: since the water in Animas river is a snowmelt the temperature is somewhat lower than warm riverstreams. The organism to survive in such cases need to regulate the thermal adaptations .

Broadspectrum enzymes developed which can function over a wide range of tempertaure.

Isoforms off enzymes developed to switch according to the temperature

express different forms or isomorphs of enzymes in different seasons e.g: Myosin ATPase expression increases at lower temperature to help the muscle contraction in winters.

3. Adaptation to Oxygen concentratons:

The dissolved oxygen concentration in the fresh water varies and the organisms adapt to this by regulation ventilation or circulation rates to maximise or minimise Oxygen consumption. Further the use of higher affinity respiratory pigments hae developed to help in hypoxic fresh water conditions.